Emojis are an essential element of communication between young couples today. Research commissioned by Durex* reveals that emojis play a vital role in young people’s conversations around sex, as well a concerning rise in apathy towards engaging in safer sexual practices:

80% of 18-25 year olds find it easier to express themselves using emojis and more than half of respondents regularly use emojis when discussing sex

84% of 18-25 year olds said they feel more comfortable talking about sex using emojis

More than one-third of 18-25 year olds claim not to care about safe sex and nearly half think that HIV will never affect them or their friends**

“In light of this research, we’re asking Canadians to use and share the hashtag #CondomEmoji to represent their support of the creation of the world’s first official safe sex emojis by the Unicode Consortium,” says Lama Mansour, Brand Manager, Durex Canada. “Emojis of this sort will enable young people to overcome embarrassment around the discussion of safe sex, encourage conversation and raise awareness of the importance of using condoms in protecting against sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV and AIDS.”

“Educating young people about the importance of safer sex is critical,” says Kyle Winters, VP and Chief Operating Officer at the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR). “This campaign specifically addresses the youth market and does so in a clever way. Anything that encourages young people to incorporate safer sex into their lifestyles is a step in the right direction.”

The social support captured by Durex will be included in the official safe sex emoji submission to the Unicode Consortium on World AIDS Day (December 1, 2015).